Strand control apparatus



May 19, 1970 D. ,1. FISHER, JR., ETAL 3,512,690

STRAND CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Oct; 27. 1967 FIG. 3

F l G. 2 INVENTORS DANIEL J. F|SHER,JR.

BY RICHARD BERT ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,512,690 STRAND CONTROL APPARATUS Daniel J. Fisher, Jr., North Kingstown, and Richard G.

Hilbert, Smithfield, R.I., assignors to Leesona Corporation, Warwick, R.I., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Oct. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 678,748 Int. Cl. B65h 25/32 U.S. Cl. 22611 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Strand control apparatus including a rotatable feed roll frictionally engageable with a strand of yarn for advancing the strand. When a yarn break occurs at a location beyond the feed roll, the strand may begin to wind about the feed roll. After a predetermined quantity of yarn has wound on the feed roll, a braking unit imparts a drag on the feed roll and causes a coupling mechanism to move the feed roll from an operative to an inoperative position.

The present invention relates generally to strand control apparatus in textile machinery, and more particularly to improved apparatus for advancing a strand of yarn.

In the following specification, the term yarn is used in a general sense to mean all types of strand material, either textile or otherwise. i

In the operation of certain textile machinery, it is customary to advance a strand of yarn by means of frictional engagement witha rotating feed roll. the yarn breaks downstream of the feed roll, that is, after it has advanced beyond the feed roll, continued rotation of the feed roll may cause the yarn to wind onto the feed roll. This is an undesirable condition which may continue until the supply is exhausted, and if left unchecked can actually result in damage to the machine.

The present invention serves to prevent such an occurrence and to this end employs a feed roll which is axially movable on a drive shaft between an operative yarn advancing position and an inoperative position'in which it is incapable of advancing the yarn. During normal operation, an operating mechanism including a coupling assembly having mating beveled clutch surfaces'on the feed roll and the drive shaft are in engagement so that the feed roll is coupled for rotation with the drive shaft. However, when the yarn breaks and begins to wind into an increasingly thick mass about the feed roll, a braking unit spaced from the surface of the feed roll engages the yarn, thus imparting a drag to the feed roll. As the feed roll is slowed relative to the drive shaft, the clutch surfaces fixed to the feed roll slide relative to the clutch surfaces on the drive shaft sothat the feed roll is moved axially along the drive shaft until a detent mechanism acts to finally separate the clutch surfaces and to releasably hold the feed roll in the inoperative position. The feed roll remains in the inoperative position until the yarn wrap is removed, at whichtime the feed roll can be manually returned to the operative position.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved strand control apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for advancing a strand of yarn.

3,512,690 Patented May 19, 1970 A further object of the invention is the provision of new and improved strand control apparatus including a feed roll for normally advancing a strand of yarn but adapted to be rendered inoperative when a predetermined quantity of yarn is wound about the feed roll.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved rotatable feed roll adapted to advance a strand of yarn and movable between an operative position engaged with a drive shaft and an inoperative position disengaged from the drive shaft, and a braking unit spaced from the peripheral surface of the feed roll and adapted to engage a predetermined quantity of yarn being Wound on the feed roll to impart a drag on the feed roll and move the feed roll to the inoperative position.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be obvious or will be set forth in the description which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation view, partly in section, of apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevation view looking toward the right side of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and illustrating an operative, yarn feeding position of the apparatus with parts broken away and removed for clearer illustration;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating an inoperative position of the apparatus; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevation view looking toward the right side of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

Refer now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1 in which an advancing strand of yarn is directed along a yarn path Y around a pair of spaced apart guide pins 12 prior to being engaged between an outer peripheral surface of a feed roll 14 and an endless flexible belt 16 frictionally engaging the feed roll. Preferably of a material having a high coetficient of friction relative to the yarn, the endless belt 16 is Supported by and drivingly engaged with a pair of spaced apart idler pulleys 18. The pulleys 18 are rotatable about axes which are substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of a suitably driven rotatable drive shaft 20 supporting the feed roll 14 suchthat rotation of the feed roll in the direction of the arrow 22 (FIG. 1) causes translational movement of the endless belt 16 and advances the yarn as indicated by the arrow heads along the yarn path Y.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an operating mechanism'prm vides for movement of the feed roll between operative and inoperative positions. The operating mechanism includes a coupling assembly having a sleeve 24 slidably received on the drive shaft 20. Press-fitted to one end of the sleeve 24 is a collar 26 having a threaded hole 28 extending in a radial direction and threadedly receiving a set screw 30. A reduced endof thesetscrew 30-extends through an aperture 32 in the sleeve 24 and engagesthe 3 in FIG. 2 and an inoperative position as shown in FIG. 3. To releasably hold the feed roll 14 in these respective positions, a detent mechanism including a compression spring 38 and a ball 40 is received within a radially directed bore 42 in the annular member 34. Extending between an inner surface of the cylinder 36 and the ball 40, the spring 38 urges the ball 40 into engagement with one or the other of a pair of axially spaced annular grooves 44 and 46 in the surface of the sleeve 24. When the ball 40 engages the groove 44 (FIG. 2), the feed roll 14 is releasably held in the operative position in which a plurality of first beveled clutch surfaces 48 in a lateral face of the collar 26 engage a mating plurality of second beveled clutch surfaces 50 in a complementary face of the annular member 34 so that rotation of the drive shaft is imparted through the mating clutch surfaces 48 and 50 to the feed roll cylinder 36.

On occasion, the yarn breaks at a location in its path Y beyond the feed roll 14, and the free end of yarn wraps about the outer peripheral surface of the feed roll resulting in an unwanted and growing mass of excess yarn being wound onto the feed roll. To counter such an occurrence, the operating assembly includes a braking unit in the form of a blade 52 (FIGS. 1 and 4) which has an upper edge 53 (seen in FIG. 4) uniformly spaced from the surface of the feed roll 14 by a distance sufiicient to provide rotational clearance between the blade and the feed roll, but sufliciently close that a build-up of excess yarn on the feed roll 14 (in the event of yarn breakage) is held to a minimum before the yarn becomes engaged by the blade 52. To accommodate a variety of yarns having different diameters, the blade 52 is preferably mounted on a cross member 54 (FIG. 4) of a frame of the machine (not shown) in a manner permitting adjustment of the blade 52 relative to the surface of the feed roll 14. This adjustment is achieved by means of a bolt 56 extending through an elongated slot 58 in the blade 52 and threadedly engaging the cross member 54, and mounting the blade centrally of the feed roll along the normal path of the yarn. As an aid in preventing the excess yarn being wound onto the feed roll 14 from traversing laterally across the surface of the feed roll, eventually discharging itself and creating further difficulties, the blade 52 'has opposite portions 60 turned toward the oncoming yarn and suitably formed to deflect the yarn toward the central regions of the upper edge 53.

When the excess yarn builds up to the extent that it becomes engaged by the blade 52, the feed roll 14 is slowed relative to the collar 26 and the clutch surfaces 50 slide on their mating surfaces 48 with the result that the feed roll 14 is moved axially from the position indicated in FIG. 2 toward the position indicated in FIG. 3. The ball 40, originally seated in the annular groove 44 is displaced from the groove 44 and when the beveled clutch surfaces 50, sliding along the beveled clutch surfaces 48, have reached a position substantially disengaged from the surfaces 48, the ball 40, under the influence of the compression spring 38 begins its descent into the annular groove 46. The force of the spring 38 is then sufficient to cause the ball 40 to become firmly seated in the annular groove 46 and to hold the feed roll 14 in the inactive position as indicated in FIG. 4. If the momentum of the feed roll 14 as it moves axially (FIGS. 2 and 3) is sufficiently great that the ball 40 does not become seated in, but moves beyond the groove 46, a retainer ring 62 is suitably fixed to an end of the sleeve 24 opposite the collar 26 and serves as a stop for the annular member 34 at a suitable location to assure seating of the ball 40 in the groove 46. The drag of the blade 52 against the excess yarn quickly brings the feed roll 14 to a halt so that additional yarn is no longer wound about the feed roll. The excess yarn is then manually removed from the feed roll 14, the feed roll 14 manually tion.

moved to re-engage the annular member 34 with the collar 26, that is, returned to the position shown in FIG. 2, and the free end of the supply yarn is suitably rethreaded to permit the interrupted operation to be reinstated.

What is claimed is: 1. Strand control apparatus comprising feed means for advancing a strand of yarn including a feed roll, drive means for driving said feed means including a drive shaft, and operating means releasably coupling said drive means and said feed means and operable for releasing said feed means from said drive means responsive to a predetermined quantity of yarn being wound on said feed means, said operating means including coupling means operable between an operative position drivingly coupling said drive shaft and said feed means for feeding the yarn and an inoperative position in which said feed means is uncoupled from said drive shaft.

2. Strand control apparatus comprising feed means for advancing a strand of yarn including a feed roll,

drive means for driving said feed means including a drive shaft, and

operating means releasably coupling said drive means and said feed means and'operable for releasing said feed means from said drive means responsive to a predetermined quantity of yarn being wound on said feed means, said operating means including coupling means operable betweenan operative position drivingly coupling said drive shaft and said feed means for feeding the yarn and an inoperative position in which said feed means is uncoupled from said drive shaft,

said coupling means including a first beveled surface fixed to said drive shaft, and a second beveled surface fixed to said feed roll and in releasable driving engagement with said first beveled surface drivingly coupling said ,drive shaft and said feed roll when said coupling means is in said operative position, and means mounting said beveled surfaces to slide along each other upon movement of said coupling means toward said inoperative position.

1 3. Strand control apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the mounting means mounts said beveled surfaces to slide along each other into disengagement in said inoperative position responsive to a predetermined drag applied to said feed roll, and said operating means includes braking means for engaging yarn wound on said feed roll and responsive to engaging said predetermined quantity of yarn for applying said predetermined drag to said feed roll, thereby sliding said second beveled surface along said first beveled surface and moving said coupling means from said operative position to said inoperative position.

4. Strand control apparatus as setforth in claim 3 wherein said operating means includes detent means for releasably holding said coupling means in said positions and for moving said coupling means toward said inoperative position. 1 a

5'. Strand control apparatus as set forth in claim4 wherein said operating means includes stop means for preventing movement of said feed roll in a direction away from said operative position beyond said inoperative posi 6. Strandfcontrol apparatus comprising a yarn feed roll mounted on ashaft, and coupling means releasably con necting said feed roll to said shaft for rotation therewith and operable to release said feed roll from rotation with said shaft in response to said strand being wound about said feed roll to a predetermined radial thickness thereon.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising braking means operative to exert additional drag on said feed roll in response to said strand being wound on said feed roll to a predetermined thickness, said coupling means being operative to release said feed roll from rotation with said shaft in response to the said additional drag on said feed roll.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said braking means is positioned a predetermined axial distance from the surface of said feed roll, whereby said braking means exert drag on said feed roll by contracting said predetermined thickness of said strand being wound on said feed roll.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said braking means includes means for deflecting said strand material being wound on said feed r011 toward the central region of said braking means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 737,268 8/1903 Owen 22648 3,004,728 10/1961 Ihle 22638 X RICHARD A. SCI-IACHER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

